Gland Pharma shares plunge over 6% amid reports of ₹1,590-crore block deal

Shares of Gland Pharma Ltd plunged as much as 6.7% in trade on Tuesday, April 9, after a huge block deal was executed on the stock counter.

Almost 90.8 lakh shares of Gland Pharma, forming 5.5% of the company’s equity, changed hands in a block deal worth ₹1,590 crore.

No details were immediately available on the buyers and sellers. However, two companies, namely Nicomac Machinery Pvt Ltd and RP Advisory Services Pvt Ltd, were looking to offload a 4.4% stake in Gland Pharma through open market transactions, reports suggested.

Both these companies are connected to Gland Pharma’s former promoter Dr Ravi Penmetsa.

The company’s shareholding pattern data showed that RP Advisory Services held 6.17 million shares (3.74% stake) and Nicomac Machinery held 1.96 million shares (1.19% stake) in Gland Pharma as on December 31, 2023.

On Tuesday, the Gland Pharma stock fell as much as 6.7% to hit an intraday low of ₹1,735.05 on the NSE compared to its previous close of ₹1,859.6 per share. However, by 11:10 am, the stock had trimmed some of its losses to trade 3.5% down at ₹1,794.15.

Interestingly, Gland Pharma shares rallied 6% in the previous session on April 8 after the company announced receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Eribulin Mesylate injection that is used to treat breast cancer.

“Gland Pharma has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Eribulin Mesylate Injection, 0.5 mg/mL Single Dose Vial (Product),” a regulatory filing by the company said.

The filing added that the company will launch the product in the near term through its marketing partners.